


Descent

by elysium_library



Category: Original Work
Genre: 19th Century, Gen, Mental Breakdown, Mental Institutions, POV First Person, Short One Shot, Solitary Confinement
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:47:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25031194
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elysium_library/pseuds/elysium_library
Summary: A young woman is admitted into an asylum. There, she loses her mind.Author's note: Please listen to "Lux Aeterna" while you read this. The link to the song is inside.
Kudos: 1





	Descent

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at writing a story to accompany a song. It might be a bit rough, but I did my best to read it out loud at a normal pace. I encourage you to play the song as you start reading (without ads, to avoid interruptions).
> 
> Lux Aeterna by Clint Mansell  
> https://youtu.be/oc3Cq89P97Y

The day I was admitted into the asylum, I was livid. I bit and clawed at my jailors as I had done to those who had dragged me to that detestable place. The recipients returned my actions with doubled enthusiasm, littering cuts and bruises upon to my person. In agony, I screamed. I screamed with all the capacity my lungs could muster - and then more. The stone walls echoed my struggles throughout the establishment. Had I not been blindfolded, I would have seen the rows of doors that housed the other inhabitants. Their erratic assortment of noises blended with my own. The resulting, anguished chorus reflected the feeling of the living nightmare I had entered. Due to the circumstances for which I had been admitted, it had been decided that I was to be housed separately. The decision was made with the safety of the other inhabitants in mind - a rare sentiment that only highlighted the severity of my character. I fought all the way to my room at the far end of the asylum. I was pinned down as my arms and legs were roughly shackled to one of the walls. I pulled to the fullest extent, but the shackles rendered me nearly immobile. The feel of the constructing metal struck me with a chill that I felt down to my bones. They took the blindfold off me then. I blinked my eyes to refocus. My gaze settled on their faces, contorted into grotesque grins. They slammed the door behind them, and I was blind once again. I yanked at the shackles and continued to scream. I screamed for hours in the dark. I screamed as the shackles cut into my skin. I screamed, yet no one returned.

I spent the following days desperate to be awake in hopes of catching a glimpse of a person. My overwhelming loneliness overrode my desire to recuperate. I became delirious over time, but I half-consciously noticed when a meal came. I saw a hand shove a plate towards me from a slot in the door - and I thought it was enough. I tried to speak to the disembodied limb, but it did not want to speak with me. I tried all the matters I had come across in my life. Then I tried that in two other languages. I spoke out loud to nothingness long after the person had left. I spoke and spoke, though I am not certain if anything tangible was uttered from my lips.

As the weeks passed, I found myself capable of lucid thoughts. I reflected on my life before I was confided to solitude. I thought of my connections with others. I catalogued them, muttering everything to myself. I concluded, to my anguish, that I had never been worthwhile to anyone. My ensuing cries were barely more perceptible than a whisper.

By the anniversary of my admittance I had no notion as to the passage of time. I had been unshackled some time ago, but I could not acknowledge this. I did not know if I still existed.


End file.
